CULTURAL SUSTAINABILITY
MAK YONG COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT & CULTURAL HERITAGE PROJECT
SUPPORTED BY THE ASIA FOUNDATION
PUSAKA’s Mak Yong Community Empowerment and Cultural Heritage Project actively empowers and encourages local community involvement in the practice, transmission and conservation of the ancient Mak Yong tradition, while creating a comprehensive archive – through audio, visual and written material – of the stories, instruction process and performative aspects of the Mak Yong tradition of Kelantan. PUSAKA works closely with the granddaughters and family of Che Ning, the legendary late Mak Yong prima donna, and master musicians of the Mak Yong tradition to record, document, provide instruction in the tradition and to assemble local knowledge and local history that will contribute towards community empowerment, especially that of youth and women. This involves extensive interviews with Mak Yong practitioners on the art and knowledge of the Mak Yong, as well as the instruction of youth in the practice of the Mak Yong. The location of the project is Kuala Besut, Terengganu, and the community directly involved amount to 30-50 people.
ENHANCING THE SUSTAINABILITY OF THE KOMPANG JOHOR TRADITION
SUPPORTED BY IRDA
The overall objective of this project is to enhance the conservation of the authentic Kompang Johor tradition at the community level, collaborating with esteemed local custodians of the Kompang tradition in Johor to conduct training workshops thereby encouraging the transmission of the tradition to the next generation. It also aims to create a foundational documentation resource on the tradition (the performance, history, craftwork and transmission), as a basis for further development of materials and extensive research on the tradition. The project focused on two communities of local custodians -- Kumpulan Kompang Parit Sumarto from Parit Raja, Batu Pahat and Persatuan Kompang Kg. Parit Madirono from Benut, Pontian. It also documented the knowledge and entrepreneurial aspects of two master kompang craftsmen, En. Mokhtar Hamid in Batu Pahat, and En. Rosdin bin Baki in Muar. Several showcase performances and workshops in Johor and Kuala Lumpur were also organised as part of this project.